Tom: Hey everyone, hope you had a great weekend. It is Monday, August 17. I am
Tom Hanson and Channel One News starts right now.
Let's start off with headlines. First up today, a search and rescue mission is underway
after an Indonesian airliner plane carrying 54 people went missing yesterday over a
remote mountainous region of Indonesia.
Officials say the Trigana Air Service plane was flying in bad weather on a short flight in
the easternmost province of Papua, Indonesia when it lost contact with ground control.
Local villagers told authorities they saw a plane crash into a mountain.
Relatives of the 54 passengers aboard the airline gathered in front of the airline offices
waiting to hear news. This is just the latest air disaster in Asia in the past two years.
Last December, all 162 people were killed when an Air Asia plane plummeted into the
Java Sea and Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing on March of 2014 with 239
people on board. Critics say there aren't enough qualified pilots and airport safety
technology needs to be updated.
Next up, new reports out say the terror group ISIS has gotten its hands on chemical
weapons and has been using them. Some experts say it shows the group continues to
expand and adapt.
The government says it is likely ISIS militants used a chemical weapon last week
against Kurdish troops in Iraq. The Kurds are an ethnic group that live in the region and
are helping in the fight against ISIS.
Kurdish forces claimed early last week that they were hit with a chemical agent. Video
appeared to show men with respiratory problems, and one man with burns. Dozens
were injured but none were killed.
U.S. officials say that they believe ISIS is in possession of mustard gas, likely stolen
from Syria but possibly from old stockpiles in Iraq. Mustard gas is a chemical that can
cause large blisters on the skin and in the lungs.
The Pentagon said it will continue to investigate the matter.
And last up, there are two different volcano alerts going on in the world right now,
putting thousands on standby for a possible eruption. One of them is going on in the
South American country of Ecuador. And the other warning is in Japan.
Thousands of residents living in the southwestern city of Kagoshima, Japan are very
close to the volcano. Over the weekend, government officials started moving them out
of their homes, trying to get them out of harm’s way.
Japan has raised the alert level to four on a five point scale, and has put nearly 600
1|Page
thousand people on alert for possible evacuation.
There are more than 100 active volcanoes in Japan, making the possibility of a volcanic
eruption very real. The last major eruption of this volcano was back in 2013 when 63
people were killed.
Meanwhile in Ecuador, a volcano not far from the capital of Quito, spewed ash several
times, sending large gray puffs three miles into the sky, causing the country's president
to declare a state of emergency.
Alright coming up, the city of Los Angeles is throwing some serious shade. You will see
what I mean.
Alright, joining us now is the newest member of our team, Azia Celestino. Before
coming to Channel One, she was a reporter/producer in TV and radio in California. So,
welcome to the team.
Azia: Thank you Tom. I am so excited to bring you guys some awesome stories this
school year.
Tom: And what are you working on today?
Azia: Well, the drought in California has been really bad, causing water shortages. So
LA has come up with a creative solution to save them water. Check it out.
With lots of concern these days about plastic waste polluting water, it was surprising to
see tens of thousands of plastic balls dumped intentionally into the biggest reservoir in
Los Angeles, all in the name of combating California's drought.
California has been struggling over the past four years with one of the worst droughts
on record. Reservoirs, rivers, and wells have been running dry around the state leaving
people without water for everything from growing food to even drinking.
These shade balls could help.
Richard Harasic: Well, it forms a barrier on here and it's a pretty tight weave.
And it just keeps the sunlight off of it, so the evaporation can't occur at all.
Azia: These were the last of 96 million balls, completing a safe, pollution-free
evaporation barrier to help protect the reservoir from drying up.
Harasic: Nothing leeches out of it. Nothing gets in the water.
Azia: Each plastic ball costs 36 cents, which means covering the water this way cost
$35 million dollars. But that's way cheaper than the $250 million dollars it would cost to
build a roof over the 174 acre reservoir.
2|Page
LA mayor, Eric Garcetti, said that this strange strategy will help keep water in people's
homes.
Eric Garcetti: By reducing evaporation, the shade balls will conserve 300 million gallons
of water each year instead of just evaporating into the sky. That's 300 million gallons to
fight this drought. Those gallons are going to be coming into kitchen sinks across the
city and as we know, and as we’ve been saying, every drop counts.
Harasic: That's enough water for 2,700 average homes in Los Angeles.
Azia: By blocking the sun, the balls do more than stop evaporation. They also help to
maintain water quality and they keep out birds, animals and pollutants.
Harasic: Sunlight can mix with the natural organics there, can grow algae, it can form
what's called disinfection by-products, which are toxic.
It’s pretty intriguing though, if you look close enough or long enough, you can kind of
see the balls moving. It's really kind of motion art out there, if you will. And it's kind of
beguiling just looking at it. There’s a lot of unintended benefits here.
Azia: One more benefit? It reminds Californians that water conservation efforts just have
to keep rolling along. It seems like a crazy thing to do, but experts say it just might be
crazy enough to work.
Tom: Who knew? Thanks Azia. Alright coming up after the break, we're flying the
friendly skies with some of America's young pilots.
Becoming a pilot seems like a pretty tough thing to do. You need lots of training, lots of
preparation, and lots of money. But for one group of Chicago teens, the dream to fly
became a reality. Former Channel One reporter Adriana Diaz caught up with them.
Adriana: For many, the smaller the plane, the higher the anxiety, especially when that
pilot is a teenager who has only been flying for four weeks.
Nineteen-year-old Malcolm Dunn is in the pilot class of Tuskegee Next, a summer
program developing the next generation of African-American aviators, named for the
first generation, the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II.
Half are from Chicago’s Southside, like Malcolm.
Malcom: My friend Corey, rest in peace, he was murdered in February.
Adriana: Do you think about him when you fly?
3|Page
Malcolm: Yea, I take a look over; try to configure his face in the clouds.
Tom: Only 2 percent of the country's licensed pilots are black.
Malcolm: Most of our people see rap stars and basketball stars. “Oh yeah, we can do
that.” We don't really see any black pilots.
Adriana: Stephen Davis, chair of the Dupage County Airport, founded the program in
part to increase diversity in aviation.
Stephen Davis: I want the kid who may not, without this program, would not have the
opportunity to excel. So hopefully, if these kids want to become pilots, the opportunity
will be there. Or they may want to be our next senator, congressman, or possibly
president.
Adriana: As a boy, Davis wanted to fly, but couldn't afford it. Training for a pilot's license
can cost more than $10,000. Here, the students are earning theirs for free.
The original Tuskegee Airmen would likely be proud. In fact, they are. Ninety-threeyear-old Milton Williams, flew 38 Missions during World War II.
Adriana: After the war, were you able to get a job as a pilot?
Milton Williams: After the war, I couldn't even join the National Guard. That was unheard
of.
Adriana: Have these kids said 'thank you' to you?
Williams: Yes they have. I’m sorry, excuse me. I get emotional sometimes. But I’m so
blessed.
Marcellus: If it wasn't for him and their trials and errors and their hard work, we wouldn't
have this program.
Amira: Like this opportunity, no one wants to see us fail. Everyone wants us to succeed.
Adriana: Success, they say they owe to those who follow and those who soared before
them.
Tom: Think you have what it takes to fly high above the clouds? Well, head on over to
ChannelOne.com for more info.
Alright guys, we our out for now. We will see you tomorrow.
4|Page